The first visit is usually a lot of conversation - they will discuss your medical history, that of your husband, your cycle, any testing that you have already completed and any testing that they might want to schedule such as additional blood work on certain cycle days, semen analysis for your husband and possibly an HSG to check your tubes for blockage.
They might also discuss treatments in "basic" terms (medications and treatments like IUI or IVF) but probably will not actually decide or schedule anything until your testing is complete.
Our doctor also discussed his philosophy regarding multiple births. We liked him because he has only had 3 cases of triplets in 10 years of practice and none higher than that but a good success rate. We also asked lots of questions about hours - what would happen if we needed treatments on the weekend? Early morning hours so that we could go in before work? Alternative treatments like acupuncture, nutritionist, counselors etc . . . ? These were things important to us.
I researched this same question on here a couple of weeks ago to know what to expect for my first RE appt. I saw that a lot of people said it was mostly coversation, getting family history, charting history, etc. But, I had my appt last week and it was nothing like that. I was actually pretty shocked. I have short cycles and a short luteal phase and wanted him to check my charts. He glanced at them really quick, but saw that I was ovulating and just kinda stuck them in my chart. From that point on, the testing began. He did a vaginal ultrasound right away. I was so unprepared I hadn’t even shaved my legs that day, because I thought we would just talk the whole time. He just looked for follicles and looked at my uterine lining. It was pretty quick. My husband was with me, so he had him do a semen analysis. And I happened to be 7 dpo, so he did my 21 day progesterone check and a prolactin check. Then, he told me once I started my period to call the desk so we could set up my hsg right away. I was amazed at how quickly we got into things. In some ways I’m grateful, because we already know that my hormone levels were good and my husband’s semen analysis was good and I have an hsg coming up next week. But, on the other hand, I feel like he wasn’t listening to me very well, and our problem might be as simple as correcting my luteal phase issue. But, it did give me a little peace of mind to get those tests out of the way right away. So, my point after all that is, go in prepared for anything. Take as much info as you have on your cycles (charts, calendars, etc), take your husband (and make sure he hasn’t ejaculated in about 3 days), and get ready to have a bunch of tests run really quickly. Good luck to you!! I know exactly what you’re going through right now. If you’re nervous, just remember you’ll have answers soon!
August 13th, 2010 at 3:39 am
The first visit is usually a lot of conversation - they will discuss your medical history, that of your husband, your cycle, any testing that you have already completed and any testing that they might want to schedule such as additional blood work on certain cycle days, semen analysis for your husband and possibly an HSG to check your tubes for blockage.
They might also discuss treatments in "basic" terms (medications and treatments like IUI or IVF) but probably will not actually decide or schedule anything until your testing is complete.
Our doctor also discussed his philosophy regarding multiple births. We liked him because he has only had 3 cases of triplets in 10 years of practice and none higher than that but a good success rate. We also asked lots of questions about hours - what would happen if we needed treatments on the weekend? Early morning hours so that we could go in before work? Alternative treatments like acupuncture, nutritionist, counselors etc . . . ? These were things important to us.
Good luck & baby dust!
August 13th, 2010 at 3:39 am
I researched this same question on here a couple of weeks ago to know what to expect for my first RE appt. I saw that a lot of people said it was mostly coversation, getting family history, charting history, etc. But, I had my appt last week and it was nothing like that. I was actually pretty shocked. I have short cycles and a short luteal phase and wanted him to check my charts. He glanced at them really quick, but saw that I was ovulating and just kinda stuck them in my chart. From that point on, the testing began. He did a vaginal ultrasound right away. I was so unprepared I hadn’t even shaved my legs that day, because I thought we would just talk the whole time. He just looked for follicles and looked at my uterine lining. It was pretty quick. My husband was with me, so he had him do a semen analysis. And I happened to be 7 dpo, so he did my 21 day progesterone check and a prolactin check. Then, he told me once I started my period to call the desk so we could set up my hsg right away. I was amazed at how quickly we got into things. In some ways I’m grateful, because we already know that my hormone levels were good and my husband’s semen analysis was good and I have an hsg coming up next week. But, on the other hand, I feel like he wasn’t listening to me very well, and our problem might be as simple as correcting my luteal phase issue. But, it did give me a little peace of mind to get those tests out of the way right away. So, my point after all that is, go in prepared for anything. Take as much info as you have on your cycles (charts, calendars, etc), take your husband (and make sure he hasn’t ejaculated in about 3 days), and get ready to have a bunch of tests run really quickly. Good luck to you!! I know exactly what you’re going through right now. If you’re nervous, just remember you’ll have answers soon!